Analysis & Opinion

Feb 1 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from
selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these
stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

* Canada will begin a two-year stint at the helm of the
eight-nation Arctic Council amid a clamor of competing calls for
leadership, as the ice recedes and the race heats up to extract
resource riches while protecting a fragile and now-exposed
environment.

* Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is publicly at odds with a key
member of his team again, this time in a he-said, she-said spat
with the Toronto Transit Commission chair.

The verbal tussle over the approval last week by the transit
commission of a 15-year sole-source contract is the latest
example of Ford's difficulty seeing eye to eye with even fiscal
conservatives on council.

Reports in the business section:

* The Canadian economy expanded at its fastest pace in more
than half a year, but the bigger picture is still one of slow
growth. The country's gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent in
November, Statistics Canada said Thursday, its strongest showing
in seven months as auto makers and oil firms ramped up activity.

NATIONAL POST

* Prime Minister Stephen Harper says while some of his
Conservative Members of Parliament may not agree, abortion is
legal in Canada. Harper made the comments while under
questioning in the House of Commons over a letter written by
three Tory MPs who want the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to
investigate hundreds of abortions as possible homicides.

FINANCIAL POST

* Two of Canada's biggest retailers, Best Buy Canada and
Sears Canada Inc, announced layoffs Thursday in what is shaping
up to be a turbulent and competitive year for the country's
retail sector.